


Love & War - King's Gambit

by PassionAndSorrow



Series: Love & War [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age - Various Authors, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Comedy, Drunkenness, F/F, F/M, Gen, Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, Other, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29283681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PassionAndSorrow/pseuds/PassionAndSorrow
Summary: The Iron Bull was having a great day at Skyhold's tavern, singing and drinking with the Chargers. Suddenly, he spots the beautiful dailish researcher finally away from studying with Solas and drinking at the bar. That's his chance.
Relationships: Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi/Maryden Halewell, Dagna/Sera (Dragon Age), Dorian Pavus/Male Trevelyan, Fen'Harel | Solas/Original Female Character(s), Male Inquisitor/Dorian Pavus, Solas (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s), The Iron Bull & Bull's Chargers (Dragon Age), The Iron Bull (Dragon Age)/Original Character(s)
Series: Love & War [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127240
Kudos: 2
Collections: dragon age





	1. A really good friend

It was close to twilight, 2 weeks before the Orlesian Ball, and Wandhis paced around her empty mentor’s desk, coloring one diagram after another. Her quill, robes and boots were making such insistent noises that after attempting to read the same line for the fifth time without success, Dorian couldn’t take it anymore. He closed his book violently and stood up, leaning on the railing, outraged “Vishante kaffas! Don’t you have other people to infuriate? Walk around Vivienne with such hideous robes? Wipe Blackwall out playing Wicked Grace? Perhaps follow your teacher up and down like a fereldan mabari???”

He regretted his burst of rage even before finishing the sentence, noticing that the young woman froze, looking at him with widened eyes and tears on them, her hands trembled. She stood in the atrium, not daring to make a sound, move, or even drop a single tear. She was seriously _scared_. Dorian remembered she was especially sensitive about humans’ temper these days, they had a conversation about going to Halamshiral and she said the idea was both fascinating and terrifying, since she never felt comfortable around the so called shemlen. And who could blame her? Elves were mistreated no matter where they went.

It had been 13 days since they went to the Exalted Plains, and her teacher was distant in grief, spending most of his time watching the mountains from the walls or studying alone is his bedroom, leaving her alone with her fears. He also suspected she was worrying too much about the bald elf, these two were so obvious he would sometimes struggle not to yell at them, telling them to just do it already.

The man sighed, realizing no one could actually focus this afternoon, and took the stairs down to the atrium. When she still didn’t move, he took the diagrams from her hands, placed them on the desk and reached the door to the main hall, opening it but not leaving her gaze. “Are you going to stand there like a statue?”

Realizing the Tevinter was trying to help her, Wandhis closed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to put her growing anxiety away. She took a deep breath before answering him “Right” and stepped towards Dorian, with a weak grin. “Where are we going?” Dorian offered his arm, and she took it thankfully. “Silencing this noisy brain of yours, it’s giving me a headache.” He kept his usual arrogant tone, though he really wanted to help her. Seeing that the end of the world had affected even her persistently joyful essence was just too much.

When they reached the tavern, it was still calm due to the time. Cullen’s orders kept the whole army busy until nightfall, and they soon spotted the chargers reunited around Maryden, singing along to their theme. Varric stood on the bar watching, taking notes while he sipped his ale. Sera was nowhere to be found, but now you could easily spot her wherever Dagna was. Wandhis gave a swift sigh with the thought of the couple, and Dorian rolled his eyes, he knew that look.

They went to the bar, and Dorian asked “Please, I need your strongest ale. Something to wipe the heartache. And my usual wine.” Varric grinned to the situation “Are the boys giving you trouble, mages?” and Dorian smiled at him, cherishing the sweet taste of wine. “I’m very pleased, thank you very much. It is this one troubles’ that are so loud she could’ve started a band in the library today.”

Varric noticed Wandhis staring at her mug, deep in thoughts, and that reminded him of himself, holding on to a crossbow, the closest he could be from someone he loved. He knew how sudden distance could hurt. He cleared his throat. “Hey Rainbow, have I ever told you about the time Cassandra stabbed me in the book?” The strange phrase had the effect he expected, and the woman raised her gaze from her drink. “You mean she didn’t like your work?” Varric chuckled. “On the contrary! She read The Tale of The Champion twice and still managed to have me tell her the events myself, so she would know the whole story for the third time. Then, she stabbed the book. Fans, right?”

She kept her interest for a while, then her smile faltered and she sighed again, her eyes going distant while she drank the ale. “Humans are unpredictable…” and Dorian leaned to her “Not true. Wander through a few courts and balls enough, and you’ll start to notice the same patterns, faces and superiority tones. Then, you find an opening and strike!” He pointed ahead with his bottle, as if he cast a spell with his staff. “Just like with a demon. I’m sure you’ll be fine in Halamshiral, they won’t even notice you. Besides, we’re taking the Iron Bull.”

The qunari soon sat beside them, as if summoned by the mention of his name. “Agh! Orlesians.” He groaned. “Dancing around that pretty game of theirs while their own people starve. Say what you will about the Qun, but in Par Vollen there isn’t any of this shit called “court intrigue”. Dorian grimaced, preparing his arguments, but quickly spot the Inquisitor entering the tavern, and ordered another drink for him. “I believe that’s my leave” and he went directly to his lover. Wandhis watched them both, her kind smile didn’t match the melancholy in her eyes. The Iron Bull noticed that, and the fact that Varric was conveniently gone.


	2. Dead ends

The Iron Bull decided to take Dorian’s seat beside the elf and turned to her, leaning on the bar so his muscles would be on display. “Relax girl, leave the humans to me. You can even use me as a shield, if you like.” He gave her his usual silly smile, lowering his voice with his last words. He hoped he could at least distract the woman from her misery.

She glanced at him, realizing the guy was really large and his sentence was true, she could actually disappear behind him if she wanted too. She thought about how easily he could knock down Orlesians too, and the thought made her ache with memories she didn’t want to visit. Even so, she needed to deal alone with her problems, so she just smiled at the qunari. “Thanks Bull, you’re too kind.” And she finished her mug of ale, ordering another. The Bull saw her quick face of pain, and thought about the secrets she should have. She reminded him of the sneaky bald elf. Still, she was much prettier. “Don’t worry. You don’t deserve spoiled rich people talking shit of you just because of where you come from. Besides, we all care about you. You’re a good friend.”

That phrase made Wandhis drink her second ale at once, and she felt a little lightheaded after placing the mug back on the counter. “Not good enough, I think.” Iron Bull would have enjoyed seeing her more loose, but not like that. He placed a hand on hers before she could order one more drink and held her gaze. “Hey. You cannot take people out of grief. Some prefer to just stay away. Especially a guy that’s used to staying away.” Wandhis gazed at the qunari. “I…thought I helped him.” Soon, her mind wavered while she talked. “We don’t talk about personal matters much; I think none of us like that. And I offered company when he didn’t want to talk. But some days after the Exalted Plains…he vanished. He doesn’t even eat with me anymore. And now the Orlesian Ball is coming, Sera’s never around either…” She sighed, and lifted her gaze again. “I’m sorry, my whining is probably bothering you.”

The qunari’ brow raised with her concern. “No, not at all. I don’t talk about feelings, but that doesn’t mean I hate hearing about it. If you want my advice, I can see you reached a dead-end. There’s absolutely nothing you can do. When that happens, I drink. Or fight. Or have sex.” That made her smirk. “You seem to reach dead ends very often” and he smiled. “I’d say I don’t do it enough.” She smiled, offering a toast. “To the dead ends.”

-

Wandhis opened her eyes, and her head was spinning. She raised a hand to her face and rubbed her temple, blinking at the sunlight. The sound of a voice pierced her ears, now sensitive with the hangover. “Hey girl! Rise and shine!” She grimaced, and tried to focus on a pair of horns and dusty furniture. “Is it morning already?” She sat with difficulty, and The Iron Bull sat beside her, offering her a mug. “Here.” She accepted it, it felt like her head would explode at any moment. “What is this?” And the qunari chuckled. “Don’t ask. Actually, don’t even smell it. Just drink it at once.”

She took a deep breath, and did as the qunari said. Her head instantly stopped spinning, followed by a strong nausea. The Iron Bull came prepared, and handled her a bucket. “Yup. Put it out. You drank about the same as me yesterday. And you look like half of a qunari.” She cleaned her mouth with the back of her hand, surprisingly feeling better.

Now she could focus on the room. It was untidy, to say the least. “Is this your room? Why am I here?” The qunari laughed. “You don’t remember a thing?“ Her eyes widened. “Wait. Did we…” and that made him smile. “If we had, at least your body would remember. And your clothes.” She blushed, now disturbed by the fact she couldn`t recall what happened.

The Iron Bull filled her in. “Well. You drank 5 mugs of my ale, while we played Wicked Grace with The Chargers. Maryden played some songs and we all danced through the tavern. Then you vanished, and I found you kissing Dailish. Then Harding. And me. You pulled me to dance again, then your head hit a beam and you passed out. So, I brought you here. And I slept on the floor, I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Wandhis couldn’t move, her face went purple. She had kissed 3 people, and didn’t even remember. She would come out of The Iron Bull’s room in the morning. Suddenly she didn’t need the Orlesian court to make her feel uneasy around public anymore, now she would never leave her own room again. “I…” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. Don’t worry. At least this time people were wearing clothes. You’re good.”

When she didn’t answer, he offered to take the dirty bucket from her hands, and gave her another one, filled with clean water. She washed her face and mouth, then stood up, tiding her hair and clothes and turning to him. “Well…Thank you for taking care of me, Bull. And I’m sorry for the trouble.” He smirked, getting on his feet and reaching the door. “You can trouble me any time. I liked it.” She gave him a sad smile. “Too bad I don’t remember any of it.” He stepped towards her “Well…I could do something about that.”

Her mouth parted, and he saw her eyes sparkling. He pulled her face into a kiss. It was firm, but soft. She placed one hand on top of his, and rested another one on his chest. He soon broke the kiss, with the usual mischievous grin covering his face. “Better?” She pressed her lips to suppress a smile, and quickly entered the door that led to the walls, blushing. The Iron Bull smirked, and went back to the tavern for some ale.

Wandhis took the stairs to the courtyard, avoiding Harding’s gaze at her, trying to hide the insistent flush on her cheeks. All the warriors and recruits were too busy to notice her, and in the main hall, she was glad she didn’t spot Dorian. Entering the door to the atrium, she went straight to her room, she needed a bath to clean herself. And her head.

In her rush, Wandhis didn’t see that a bald elf observed her by the corner of his eye, while painting the atrium. He noticed her messy hair and robes, and hadn’t seen her all morning. Solas sighed, his plan had finally worked. Now that she was with someone else he wouldn’t need to avoid her that much. His mind was relieved, though his heart ached.


End file.
